Peter Sauber, team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, and the Sauber Formula One team had this to say about the 2011 Formula One season. “2011 was divided into two very different parts – we had a good first half and a difficult second one,” Sauber confirmed in an interview with the official F1 website, “This year, we will have to allot our development resources in a way that will help us improve over the whole course of the season and help us keep and defend our position. This season, we want to have the same start as last year, but we want to keep that level of performance throughout the whole season. If we are able to do that then the final count will look more pleasant. ”

“But what I expect on the technical side, I also expect from the drivers – and that’s progression. And I am convinced that this progression will materialise, as both [drivers] are still very young and have one more year of experience under their belt. Both will be able to bank the experience and use it to their advantage.”

“Kamui had a very good first half of the season, with considerable results, but couldn’t carry that momentum into the second half,” he reflected, “But it would be wrong to put all the blame on him, as the performance of the car was nowhere near what it had been in the first few months. When it got towards the end of the season and we were defending our position from Toro Rosso, Kamui was right there again and proved he could be depended on.”

In reference to Perez’ accident, “It took longer than we all had anticipated, [and] showed that such a concussion has longer after-effects than we all thought.” “It’s true that his lap times were already good [at his first race back] in Valencia, but he still didn’t feel 100 per cent well. He later confessed that it took until after the summer break to be back to normal again.”

For the 2012 F1 season, Sauber Formula One team driver’s are Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Gutiérrez and will drive the C31 F1 race car. Peter Sauber when talking about technical aspects said, “The technical development over the past 20 years has been breathtaking.” “In the areas of aerodynamics, electronics and power train there have been huge leaps forward and that has led to an explosion of costs. It must be the foremost task of all responsible parties to bring these costs down to a reasonable level.”

Sauber has followed in the footsteps of Ferrari, and quit F1 teams’ organisation, FOTA that’s been campaigning for cost reductions. He added, “We have informed FOTA about our reasons – we see this as an internal affair and don’t want to discuss it openly in public,” he insisted, “However, we are in constant contact with all the other teams and discuss any important issues, like the [Resource Restriction Agreement]. It definitely has not become easier for the smaller teams [but] to cut costs in F1 is a very difficult and thorny issue. The RRA was a step in the right direction, but now other steps must urgently follow….”